Typewriting-machine



c. M. HILSEE. TYPEWRITING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED DEC. I3. I9I7.

Patented July 20, 1920.

STATES PATENT .CBFFECE.

CHARLES M. HIIiSEE, OIEPI-IILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 UNDERWOOD TYPEWR-ITER COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

TYPEWRITING-MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, CHARLES M. Hinsnn, a citizen of the United States, residing in Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in T ypewriting-lviachines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for collating sheets in typewriting machines, for example an invoice or statement sheet and an underlying ledger or other record sheet. The ledger sheet is intended usually to accumulate copies of all the items upon a succession of statements or invoices.

The invention is illustrated in a form suitable for writing single-line items on successive dates upon the same statement sheet, so that the end of the month will find the statement complete and ready to be mailed to the customer. After writing each day upon the statement and ledger sheets, they are removed from the machine and clipped together for insertion on the following day.

I provide means for locating or gaging the statement sheet positively in the machine ready for the typing to begin, and also arrange to collate the record sheet preferably by reference to such statement sheet. The operation can be quickly and readily performed, so that the time of the operator is economized. The statement sheet is inserted at the back of the platen and thrust forwardly around the same, and then gaged by means of its bottom or trailing edge, the gage being at the introductory side of the platen, and the sheet being backed up to the gage. Then the ledger sheet may be inserted between the statement sheet and the platen and readily adjusted to position for typing thereon, this adjustment being effected while the statement sheet is held stationary.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear. I

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a perspective front view of the platen-carriage of an Underwood frontstrike typewriting machine, with the present improvements illustrated in connection therewith.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J g 2Q 192(k Application filed December 13, 1917.

Serial No. 206,903.

Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation, showmg the forward rolls cast off. These rolls may usually run upon the statement sheet, and are cast off to permit the advance or retraction of the ledger sheet while the statement sheet remains stationary.

Fig. 3 is a sectional side elevation, showing all the sheets in the machine.

Fig. l is a front view, showing the sheets collated in the machine preparatory to writing an entry thereon.

Fig. 5 is a diagram to illustrate both the forward and rear rolls cast off from the platen.

The collating-board 10 is mounted at the lntroductory side or rear of the platen 11, to incline downwardly and forwardly thereto, and comprises two main chutes or portions, one portion 12 fitted to receive and guide the statement sheet 13. and the other portion 14 fitted to receive and guide the ledger or record sheet 15, which may be of substantially greater width than the statement sheet. The statement is inserted in the chute 12, which comprises a floor and side-guides 16, and is thrust forwardly down the chute and around under the platen 11,

without interference from any feed rolls,

and rises in front of the platen until the blank portion thereof reaches the vicinity of the printing point 17. The operator finally adjusts the sheet by lifting its rear portion or bottom edge up against a gage 18, which extends across the floor 12 of the middle chute or portion of said collating-board, whereby the statement sheet is positioned to bring the first blank line thereon into register with the printing point 17 on the platen; that is, into register with the wingscales 19 that are usually provided at the front of the platen in said Underwood machine.

Since only a single line may be written at each insertion, and since it is desired to use said gage 18 for the positioning of statements upon successive days, the gage is made extensively adjustable up and down, the collating-board having for this purpose thumb-screws 20 to pass through vertical guide-slots 21 in the collating-board, and threaded into nuts 22 fitting in said slots.

The slots 21 may be long enough to afford say 30 step-by-step adjustments of the gage, or one for every business day of the month.

The depression of the middle chute floor 12 below the outer chute floor portions 14 permits the connecting sides 16 to have sufficient extent to form sidegages for the statement sheets. The depression is also deep enough to permit the gage 18 to lie below the surface of the outer floor portions 14. It will also be noted that the heads of the thumb-screws do not project above said upper floor 14 or interfere with the record sheet 15 which is to be. laid upon said floor.

Since it is desired to hold the statement sheet 13 temporarily in position during the subsequent insertion and adjustment of the ledger sheet 15, there is provided upon said gage 18 a pair of clips 23, which are in the natureFOf yielding spring-fingers, and have up-turned forward ends at 23 to facilitate the introduction of the sheet thereunder as the sheet is thrust up against the gage 18. The clips are preferably yieldable to the thrust of the sheet, but may still have suflicient force to hold the sheet so that it will not become disarranged during the separate manipulation of the record sheet 15. Said clips usually rest upon the carbon sheet 24 which lies between the statement sheet 13 and the platen.

The statement sheet being thus positioned,

the operator introduces the ledger or other record sheet 15, which may be of much greater 'width than the statement sheet, into the wide chute comprising the floor portions 4- and side-guides 25, which are much more separated than the side-guides 16 which control the-statement sheet. The intervening space at each end of the platen between the guides 16 and 25 is occupied by the floor portions 14; these floor portions and guides 25 together forming the chute for the ledger sheet. Said side-guides 25 preferably extend around the platen, and the downwardly-directed floor portions 14 extend to the rear of the platen and there merge into the floor 12 of the statement chute.

The record sheet 15 is thrust down this wide chute, and enters between the platen and the previously-inserted statement sheet 13 and carbon 24. As it is thrust in, its front portion rises until the next blank line of writing thereon registers with the first blank line on the statement sheet, as at Fig. 4, so that the item which now is to be written upon the statement sheet will appear in the proper place just below the last item Written upon the record sheet. The latter, at Fig. 4, has exposed side margins, to receive items which it is not desired to have appear upon the statement sheet.

The record sheet having been thus posi ward platen rolls 27 to bear upon the sheets, i

Fig. 3, to hold them firmly against the platen during the typing operation.

If any record sheet is so nearly filled up that it is inconvenient to adjust it by hand exactly to the printing line, the operator may set the release-key mechanism 26 to midway position (see full lines at Fig. 2), so as to bring in use only the rear feed rolls 28, which run upon the side margins of the record sheet 15, or outside of the edges of the statement sheet 13, see 4; and then by employing the usual finger-wheel 29 to rotate the platen,'the wide record sheet 15 may be advanced or retracted to bring the desired line thereon into exact register with the wing-scales 19, or with the first blank line upon the statement sheet 13.

The usual feed-roll release shaft 30 on the Underwood machine is shown, but it has a cutaway portion 31 which receives the arm 32 that controls the rear feed roll 28, so that the part of the shaft 30 which is not cut away may be operated to actuate the arm 33 to cast off the forward feed roll 27, without casting off the rear roll 28, as at Fig. 2. Hence, the record sheet 15 may be advanced or retracted by rotating the platen 11 in conjunction with the rear feed rolls 28, and without disturbing the statement sheet 13 or its carbon 24.-.

At Fig. 5, the feed-roll release shaft 30 i shown as turned far enough to throw off both the forward and rear rolls 27, 28; and in Fig. 3 it is shown in normal position, with both rolls running upon the platen or the paper thereon.

It will thus be seen that the feed-roll release shaft has three positions, one normal, as at Fig. 3, with all the rolls running upon the platen, another position at Fig. 5, in which both rolls are cast off from the platen, and an intermediate position at Fig. 2, in which only the front rolls 27 are withdrawn. It will be seen at this figure that the front rolls will be maintained mechanically in released positions, owing to the engagement of the arms 33 with the cylindrical surface of the release shaft 30.

As soon as a line is typed, both sheets are withdrawn, and another statement sheet, is inserted, together with a record sheet: and so on. A fresh adjustment of the first-line gage 18 is made each day.

It will thus be seen that the sheets may be readily inserted and accurately positioned as required, and that there is no necessity for relying upon perforations or studs to collate the sheets, and that the statements do not have to be made of extra width, nor cover up portions of the record sheet which are to receive special items; while the chute structure is made very simple and efficient, and readily applied to existing machines, and being at the introductory side of the machine is not in the way of the operator in manipulating the sheets. Moreover, the different portions thereof are exposed to the view of the operator.

If desired, the feed rolls 28 may be used as a gage for the front edge of the ledger sheet 15, as at Fig. 2, so that it is only necessary to insert said sheet as far as it will go, and then use the platen-knob 29 for advancing said sheet to bring the first blank line thereon to the printing point.

Another method of using the invention would be to insert the ledger sheet 15 first. The side gages 25 of course may be relied upon to true the ledger sheet relatively to the platen; and its leading edge may be caught between the platen 11 and the rolls 28, as at Fig. 2, and then the platen-knob 29 may be rotated to bring the ledger sheet forward about to the proper position for receiving the first line of writing. Then the statement sheet 13 may be inserted in its chute, and passed around outside of the ledger sheet, between the ledger sheet rolls 28, and up in front of the platen. The rear end of the statement sheet may then be set up against the gage 18, and held by the clips 23; and then the platen may be rotated to bring the ledger sheet into such position that the first blank line thereon will register with the first blank line upon the statement s ieet.

Or, if desired, the ledger sheet may first be. finally adjusted by means of the wingscales 19 before the statement sheet is inserted; and since the gage 18 brings the statement sheet to its final printing position,

no direct comparison needs to be made between the ledger sheet and the statement sheet, as to their relative register.

The front rolls 27 may be omitted, as the portion 34 of the merged chute which curves forwardly under the platen may be depended upon to hold the paper firmly against the platen for typing thereon; and the wing-scales may also aid for this purpose. The front feed rolls will, however, be useful in case the item to be typed comprises more than a single line.

Variations may be resorted to within the scope of the invention, and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. The combination with platen, of sheet-collating means at the introductory side thereof comprising side gaging means for guiding a narrow outer work-sheet, an end-gage comprising a stop against which the trailing end of said sheet a revoluble V between the platen and the work-sheet, said v last-mentioned means comprisin a chute open at the side facing the platen to admit access by the fingers of the typist to the trailing end of said record-sheet after it has been caused to closely approach the platen. 2. The combination with a revoluble platen, of a collating-board at the introductory side thereof, comprising a narrow chute having a fioor and side-guides, and also comprising a wide chute, said wide chute having floor portions bordering upon said side-guides and extending outwardly therefrom, and side-gages at the outer edges of said floor portions, and a transverse gagedevice upon the first-mentioned floor, said gage-device adjustable toward and away from the platen.

3. The combination with a revoluble platen, of two chutes arranged one within the other at the introductory side of the platen, said chutes merging together in the vicinity of the platen to form a table, and the sides of the outer chute having extensions around the platen to form edge gages for work-sheets passed around the platen.

4. The combination with a revoluble platen, of a wide chute arranged at the introductory side thereof, a narrow chute also arranged at the introductory side thereof and included between the sides of the wide chute, an end-gage for one of said chutes, and a clip to hold a sheet gaged thereby in adjusted position in said chute during ad justment of another sheet in predetermined relation therewith in the other of said chutes.

5. The combination with a revoluble platen, of a wide chute arranged at the introductory side thereof, a narrow chute also arranged at the introductory side thereof and included between the sides of the wide chute, a gage for the trailing edge of a work-sheet introduced by means of the narrow chute, and sheet-holding means so related to said gage and said narrow chute as to receive the trailing edge of said sheet when backed into gaging relation with said gage and to yieldingly retain said sheet in its gaged position.

6. The combination with a revoluble platen, of a narrow chute at the introductory side thereof, a wide chute also mounted at the introductory side of the platen, said chutes merging together in the vicinity of the platen, and an adjustable gage for the bottom of the sheet, said gage mounted in said narrow chute.

7. The combination with a revoluble platen, of a narrow chute at the introductory side thereof, a wide chute also mounted at the introductory side of the platen, said chutes merging together in the vicinity of the platen, and means in said narrow chute for gaging a sheet by its trailing end and for holding it in its gaged position, said gaging and holding means being adjustable tov different positions .relatively to said platen.

8. The combination with a revoluble platen, of a collating-board at the introductory sidle thereof, comprising a narrow chute having a floor and side-guides, and also comprising a wide chute, said wide chute having floor portions bordering upon said side-guides and extending outwardly therefrom, and side-gages at the outer edges of said floor portions, and means in said narrow chute for gaging a sheet by its trailing end and for holding it in its gaged position.

9. The combination with a revoluble platen, of a collating-board at the introductory side thereof, comprising a narrow chute having a floor and side-guides, and also comprising a wide chute, said wide chute having floor portions bordering upon said side-guides and extending outwardly therefrom, and side-gages at the outer edges of said floor portions, and a sheet-clip to retain a work-sheet in one of said chutes while inserting another sheet in adjusted relation therewith in the other of said chutes.

10. The combination with a revoluble platen, of a collating-board at the introductory side thereof, comprising a narrow chute having a floor and side-guides, and also comprising a wide chute, said wide chute having floor portions bordering upon said side-guides and extending outwardly therefrom, and side-gages at the outer edges of said floor portions, an adjustable gage in the narrow chute, and a sheet-clip on said gage for adjustment therewith.

11. The combination with a revoluble platen, of a collating-board at the introductory side thereof, comprising a narrow chute having a floor and side-guides, and also comprising a wide chute, said wide chute having floor portions bordering upon said side-guides and extending outwardly therefrom, and side-gages at the outer edges of said floor portions, a transverse gage-device upon the first-mentioned floor, said gagedevice adjustable toward and away from the platen, and a clip carried upon said gagedevice.

12. The combination with a revoluble platen, of a chute at the introductory side of the platen having an opening in its bottom, a second chute, sides for said second chute forming edge gages and merging into the sides of said opening, and a sheet-clip to retain a work-sheet in the second-mentioned chute while inserting another sheet in adjusted relation therewith in the first-mentioned chute.

13. The combination with a revoluble platen, of two chutes arranged one within the other at the introductory side of the platen, a gage for one end of the sheet introduced by means of the inner chute, and a clip to hold the gaged sheet during the adjustment of another sheet around the platen.

14. The combination with a revoluble platen, of a chute at the introductory side thereof, an adjustable gage on said chute for the bottom edge of a work-sheet introduced thereby, and a clip-device adjustable together with said gage.

15. The combination with a revoluble platen, of sheet-guiding means in rear of the platen and extending forwardly around and under the same, gaging means comprising a stop against which to back upthe trailing edge of a sheet, and separate means for guiding a wider sheet between said sheet and the platen.

16. The combination with a revoluble platen, of a collating-board at the introductory side thereof, comprising a narrow chute having a floor and side-guides, and also comprising a wide chute, said Wide chute having floor portions bordering upon said sideguides and extending outwardly therefrom, and side-gages at the outer edge of said fioor portions, and gaging means upon said floor, said gaging means being depressed below the level of said floor portions and constituting a stop for the trailing edge of a work-sheet.

17-. The combination with a revoluble platen, of a wide chute arranged at the introductory side thereof, a narrow chute also arranged at the introductory side thereof and included between the sides of the wide chute, and feed rolls to run upon the margins of a wide sheet introduced by means of said wide chute, said rolls being spaced apart sufliciently to permit a narrow sheet introduced by means of said narrow chute to pass freely between the same.

18. The combination with a revoluble platen, of a wide chute arranged at the introductory side thereof, a narrow chute also arranged at the introductory side thereof and included between the sides of the wide chute, feed rolls to run only upon the margins of the wide sheet, feed rolls to run upon the narrow sheet, and means to release the last-mentioned rolls independently of thefirst-mentioned rolls.

19. The combination with a revoluble platen and forward and rear feed rolls to run thereon, of a single feed-roll release key,

run thereon, of a single feed-roll release key,

a and means controlled thereby for releasing both said rolls or one of said rolls independently of the other by variously positioning said key, and holding it mechanically in released position.

21. The combination with a revoluble platen and forward and rear feed rolls to run thereon, said rolls having release arms, of a release shaft to engage said arms, said shaft provided with a cutaway to clear one of said arms while said shaft engages another of said arms to release the roll connected thereto.

22. The combination with a revoluble platen and feed rolls to run thereon, of a feed-roll release shaft, means controllable by said shaft during a partial movement thereof for casting off a portion of said rolls from the platen, and means also controllable by said shaft during a further movement thereof for casting off the remaining rolls from the platen.

23. The combination with a revoluble platen and feed rolls to run thereon, of a feed-roll release shaft, means controllable I by said shaft durin a partial movement thereof for casting o a portion of said rolls from the platen, and means also controllable by said shaft during a further movement 'thereof for casting off the remaining rolls from the platen, means being provided for holding the shaft mechanically in either of its effective positions.

24. The combination with a revoluble platen, of a wide chute aranged at the introductory side thereof, a narrow chute alsoarranged at the introductory side thereof and included between the sides of the wide chute, a gage for an end of a work-sheet, a

clip to hold the gaged sheet during adjustment of another sheet, and rolls to run only upon the margins of the wide sheets.

v 25. The combination with arevoluble platen, of a wide chute arranged at the introductory side thereof, a narrow chute also arranged at the introductory side thereof and included between the sides of the wide chute, a gage for the bottom edge of a worksheet introduced by means of the narrow chute, means to clip the sheet in the narrow chute, and rolls to run only upon the margins of the wide sheets.

26. The combination with a revoluble platen, of a narrow chute at the introductory side thereof, a wide chute also mounted at the introductory side of the platen, said.

chutes merging together in the vicinity of the platen, an adjustable "gage for the bottom of the sheet, said gage mounted in said narrow chute, a sheet-clip in said narrow chute, said clip adjustable with said gage, and rolls to run only upon the margins of the wide sheets.

27. The combination with a revoluble platen, of sheet-guiding means in rear of the platen and extending forwardly around and under the same, gaging means comprising a stop against which to back up the trailing edge of a sheet, separate means for guiding a wider sheet between said sheet and the platen, means for holding the first sheet stationary during adjustment of the wider sheet, and rolls to run only upon the means for guiding a separate sheet around the platen to be engaged by said other feed rolls, so that the platen, when turned, will adlilrance the two sheets together by the feed ro s.

29. The combination with a revoluble platen and two sets of feed rolls to run thereon, of means for guiding a work-sheet around the platen to enable it to be gaged against one set of feed rolls and to he between the feed rolls of the other set, means for guiding a separate sheet around the platen to be engaged by said other feed rolls, so that the platen, when turned, will ad- Vance the two sheets together by the feed rolls, and a single release key for releasing one or both sets of feed rolls to enable the work-sheets to be thus gaged.

30. The combination with a revoluble platen, of a set of feed rolls to run upon the center of the platen, a set of feed rolls to run upon the margins of the platen, means for casting oif'one of said sets or both of said sets, and a single key adapted to be selectively positioned for operating said castin -oif means.

31. he combination of a revoluble platen, an introductory chute for said platen, a gage for the rear end of a sheet placed in said chute, a clip for said sheet on said gage, and means for subsequently gaging the leading end of a second sheet introduced between the first sheet and the laten.

CHARLES M. ILSEE.

Witnesses:

JENNIE P. THORNE, ARTHUR A. JOHNSON. 

